DEFRA Response to it's Deposit Return Scheme
The Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) published a response to its Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) consultation for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The response outlined their intention to introduce DRS in England, Wales and Northern Ireland by 1 October 2025 - albeit a stretching target. Under such a scheme, customers are required to pay a small deposit when purchasing drinks, which they can receive back as a refund when returning the drinks packaging for recycling through a verified channel. This could be a return to the counter in supermarkets or through the use of reverse vending machines.
The government has described the scheme as “industry led”, as the unappointed Deposit Management Organisation (DMO) is likely to be made up of industry bodies and producers. The DMO will be responsible for managing the overall operation of the Scheme and will be appointed by the government through an application process. This will likely be set up by summer 2024.
Key details include:
- All-in Scheme: Single-use drinks containers from 50ml-3L containers will be in the scope of the DRS.
- Materials in-scope: Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, steel cans and aluminium cans will be included for England, Northern Ireland, and Wales. Glass bottles will be included for Wales only.
- Retailers and return points: Retailers selling in scope containers in store will be required to host a return point, where consumers can return the empty container and be given their deposit refund, subject to some specific exemptions that retailers can apply for. Where containers are sold online, DEFRA intends to require large grocery retailers to offer consumers a takeback service for those containers.
- Deposit: Value to be confirmed by DMO.
- Collection targets: 90% within 3 years of the Scheme being in operation.
DEFRA will now look to engage with industry to set up the DMO and are drafting the required statutory instruments to put the legislation into law. Further work will also be done to ensure alignment with Scotland’s DRS scheme, which is set to go live by 16 August 2023.
A more detailed briefing on the consultation response and overview of DRS across UK nations can be found here.
